Research

Our research seeks to deepen understanding of how high-impact entrepreneurs contribute to job creation and long-term economic growth in order to educate key stakeholders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Featured Article

Doing Business in Jordan - Entrepreneur Sentiment

Endeavor
Jordan MD during the Law panel at Harvard Arab World Conference 2017
discussing the legislative and regulatory
challenges entrepreneurs face in Jordan

Following from the Business Migration
infographic we released earlier this year and the round-table event organized
that brought members of the public and private sector together to debate the
findings, here is a short article that discusses the importance of ensuring that
entrepreneurial ventures that are born in Jordan, and scale in and out of
Jordan are identified and recognized as Jordanian successes stories to
guarantee the long term sustainability of the ecosystem.
Jordan is rich with entrepreneurs who have the
ambition to set up new businesses and who have the ability to deliver and
execute on their vision. However, for there to be a healthy cycle in place that
cultivates high-growth companies and industries, successful founders should have
the desire to remain in Jordan and establish new ventures in the Kingdom and to
share their resources with the next generation of entrepreneurs by re-investing
their intellectual, social, and financial wealth in other entrepreneurs and
businesses. The article goes on to highlight 5 recurring themes on the challenges
we hear from entrepreneurs in regards to the legal and regulatory environment
and present five recommendations that address such challenges that came
out of the round-table discussion organized earlier this year.

Jordan Business Migration

In a recent survey we conducted at Endeavor Jordan, we asked entrepreneurs the following question: 'If you were starting your business over again, would you set it up in Jordan?' 60%of respondents said they would not.

One of the major challenges we face at Endeavor Jordan is our
pipeline: finding companies that meet the Endeavor selection criteria. Endeavor
looks for high-impact entrepreneurs who lead high-growth, innovative businesses
that can create material wealth and employment in Jordan. We find, quite often,
that the founders of such companies are either in the process of relocating
from Jordan, or have already relocated to markets that are more favorable for
their business.

This survey aims to shed light on this topic and help drive a
dialogue between the public and private sector to address the
challenges.

SUMMARY: How Patterns of Mentorship and Reinvestment Accelerate the Development of High-Growth Industries

The development of entrepreneurship ecosystems cannot be judged by the number of startups in the ecosystem, nor are startups the answer for the Middle East’s pressing job crisis. It is the scale-up entrepreneurs that manage to overcome the initial start-up phase hurdles and reach the more challenging phase of scaling their businesses, while demonstrating the potential to be sustainable, that are the driving force of job creation.

“Multiplying Impact: Amman’s High-Growth ICT Industry” is a report by Endeavor Jordan that shares stories of such entrepreneurs whose impact has stretched beyond the success of their own businesses and contributed to the organic growth of a high-impact ICT technology sector in Jordan. These entrepreneurs have enabled next-generation entrepreneurs to succeed in growing and scaling their companies and commercializing their products and services, thus creating jobs, and expanding the economy’s productive potential.

By following the specific patterns of mentorship, investment and serial entrepreneurship activities, these entrepreneurs have helped produce localized ecosystems that are increasingly integrated with, and contribute to, the ever-developing global technology sector network.

The development of the ICT ecosystem in Jordan is also demonstrated through what Endeavor refers to as the “Entrepreneurship Acceleration Cycle”. This pattern has been observed in many successful communities around the world and is comprised of four distinct steps:

Step 1: Ambition
Entrepreneurs seek to build large, scalable businesses in their local communities.Step 2: Growth
Ambitious founders achieve significant growth at their companies.Step 3: Commitment
Successful founders choose to stay in the local area and share their resources with the next generation of entrepreneurs. Step 4: Reinvestment
Successful founders reinvest in other entrepreneurs and businesses.

Click here for the entire report and to read the full stories of Jordan’s high-impact entrepreneurs, and Endeavor Jordan’s recommendations to support the Entrepreneurship Acceleration Cycle at each stage.